The Recycle 100: 9th International Secondary Lead & Battery Recycling Conference was held in Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah, Malaysia, on September 1–2, 2025.
This article highlights part of the second session on the afternoon of September 1, chaired by John Wirtz II, the fourth-generation president of Wirtz Manufacturing Company. The session focused on “Business Strategies and Technological Options for Addressing Battery Recycling Challenges in a Sustainable Manner.”
Closing the Loop in EV Battery Recycling – Perspectives From a Solutions Provider
Speaker: Sushant Patro
With extensive experience in the metals and mining sector, Sushant Patro, responsible for sales and business development at Primobius, presented the company’s EV battery recycling system.
Primobius’ EV Battery Recycling Strategy
- Closed-loop recycling: Promoting a circular model in which used lithium-ion batteries are collected and reused in battery manufacturing.
- Robust business foundation: Parent company SMS group has over 150 years of history and operates in more than 100 countries. Primobius leverages this expertise to provide regionally optimized solutions.
- R&D facilities: A dedicated facility in Germany has refined technology over the past five years, enabling flexibility toward evolving raw materials and regulatory requirements.
- Broad adaptability: The process handles diverse chemistries including NCM, LCO, and LFP. It is designed to safely process batteries with 30% state-of-charge, significantly reducing fire and explosion risks.
- High-purity recovery technology: Black mass is recovered with high quality and converted through hydrometallurgical processes into nickel, cobalt, and lithium compounds. Intermediate products can also be supplied upon customer request.
- One of Europe’s largest integrated facilities: A plant jointly built with Mercedes-Benz is already in operation, offering a fully integrated chain from R&D to sorting and processing.
Q: Recycling discussions often focus on recovery rates. What recovery rate can your process achieve?
A: Under ideal conditions for each battery type, recovery rates can be extremely high. However, in practice, recovery must be balanced against capital expenditure (CAPEX). Ultimately, the achievable recycling rate is determined by business considerations.
Low-Energy Desalination Options to Eliminate Sulfates from Discharge
Speaker: Patrick Curran
With over 35 years leading technology firms in water treatment and battery recycling, Patrick Curran presented online about challenges and technological options for managing sulfate discharge in lithium-ion and lead battery recycling.
Background Issues
- Around the world, including North America, sulfate discharge standards are being tightened, making permitting and plant expansion difficult; many existing plants struggle to comply.
- Roughly 30% of discharged sulfates come from battery acid. The remainder is neutralized before discharge, often requiring advanced treatment.
Wastewater Characteristics
- Water produced through neutralization and scrubbing is classified as high-salinity (over 60,000 ppm), which is difficult to treat.
- Sodium hydroxide or ammonia is typically used in treatment, generating byproducts such as sodium sulfate or ammonium sulfate. Economical methods for producing dry salts are in demand.
Technological Approaches
- Acid neutralization: Commercially available; can reduce discharge volumes by up to 30%.
- Membrane treatment: High-pressure membranes and ultra-high-pressure reverse osmosis (RO) can remove metals and concentrate brine.
- Evaporation and crystallization: Generates clean water and dry salts from high-salinity wastewater. Energy consumption has been optimized but costs remain high.
- Electro-inductive drying: Can dry efficiently even with high electrolyte concentrations, though adoption is limited.
Cavitation (bubble nucleation): A new method to accelerate salt precipitation, but practical use is still limited.
Evaluation and Cost Considerations
- Technology readiness can be measured using NASA’s TRL (Technology Readiness Level) scale (1–10).
- Technology selection depends on site-specific conditions such as wastewater volume, salinity, supply security, and operating costs.
- High-performance systems such as ultra-high-pressure RO and crystallizers deliver results but require high CAPEX, maintenance, and energy costs.
- Lower-pressure RO and electro-evaporation systems can reduce capital and operating expenses while maintaining sufficient treatment capacity.
- Cost of ownership is best evaluated by combining energy use, depreciation, and maintenance.
Since acid treatment itself can already be managed with existing technology, the key challenges in practice are operational, logistical, and supply-chain related. Selecting and combining the right technologies enables regulatory compliance while optimizing costs, making efficient and sustainable wastewater management possible.
Closing Reflections
Battery recycling is essential globally from the perspective of resource circularity. The technology itself is well established, with lead batteries achieving particularly high recycling rates. However, for battery recycling to become a sustainable business, profitable models must be developed.
Additionally, wastewater treatment and low-energy processes are becoming increasingly critical. In the future battery recycling market, success will require not only technological solutions but also strategic business optimization.
This session provided a comprehensive overview of the challenges faced in recycling operations and their potential solutions. Attention will continue to focus on business strategies tailored to national and regional contexts.
(On the evening of September 1, following the day’s sessions, a dinner party was held at The Pacific Sutera Hotel. Participants enjoyed Malaysian cuisine and cultural performances such as traditional Sabahan dance in a relaxed atmosphere.)
Further coverage of presentations from the Recycle 100: 9th International Secondary Lead & Battery Recycling Conference will be published in due course.
(IRUNIVERSE Midori Fushimi)
